Summary of Historic Full-Time Contract

We have won a historic contract that 99% of our members voted to approve!

Over the last week of our contract campaign in mid-April, our “final warning” to the BOG, our preparations and readiness to walk off the job, and very late-night bargaining changed the game. At the very precipice of a strike, the Administration finally conceded to a contract with equity, security, and dignity. See below for a list of the concrete gains we have won for every segment of the faculty and grad workers.

Equity raises: For the first time in our almost 50-year history, our union has made it possible for women and faculty of color to obtain pay equity. In short, we won provisions for equal pay for equal work, including for faculty in Camden and Newark earning less than comparable New Brunswick scholars. Faculty will apply through an expanded out-of-cycle process, backed up with an appeal process and the University’s commitment to pay raises from central funds. That last stipulation overrides the destructive budget model of Responsibility Center Management (RCM). All faculty are eligible to apply for an equity correction if you believe that you are paid less than your peers.

Significant salary gains: In addition to providing our members with the opportunity to achieve equity raises to redress gender, race and other forms of discrimination, we won significant gains for our grad employee members. In the first two years of our contract, their salaries will increase by $2,600 (10% for academic year employees). By the end of this contract period, TA and GA salaries will go from $25,969 to $30,162 for academic year workers.

All faculty will receive the following salary increases:

July 1, 2018 - $3,642

July 1, 2019 – 3% across-the-board

July 1, 2020 – 3% merit

July 1, 2021 – 2.5% across-the-board

For all members, retroactive payments will be processed going back to July 1, 2018.

Gender and Race Equity: We also won $20 million for diversity hiring. In another historic first, the University agreed to a committee composed equally of our members and members of management, co-chaired by the SPVAA and a person selected by our union. The Diversity Committee will be charged with planning systematic changes to our University’s approach to gender, race and diversity.

Protecting the jobs and expanding the rights of TA/GAs: We won important protections against the conversion of TAships to PTL positions. Before candidacy, any PhD student who teaches must be employed as a teaching assistant. We also bargained contract provisions to ensure that all grads who are performing bargaining unit work are in TA or GA positions. In addition, the Union bargained language requiring lactation spaces to be provided for all faculty and staff in compliance with the aw – an essential protection for graduate student parents. Availability of lactation space is enforceable through our new contract.

Academic Freedom: For the first time in our history, academic freedom is recognized in our contract for all unit members and expressly applies to social media.

Infosilem: Also for the first time, the Administration agreed to negotiate over a software package – Infosilem – that raises grave concerns over faculty course scheduling.

NTT Faculty: We won meaningful job security for our NTT colleagues who until now had few, if any, protections against arbitrary non-renewals. An NTT faculty member cannot be re-appointed for a term shorter than her or his previous term. And after six years, she will receive a minimum three-year contract upon reappointment. Also, at any point, NTTs may be (re)appointed for a seven-year term. For the first time ever NTTs have a grievance procedure that empowers them to challenge non-reappointments and decisions not to promote. Finally, the University has shifted from its “no-green card” policy. Rutgers may now sponsor NTT faculty for permanent residency in the United States.

Protections against sexual harassment and gender and race discrimination: We now have a guarantee of a workplace free of harassment and stalking, enforced with binding arbitration.

Ten-year rule for Associate Professors: We formalized this important alternative route to promotion. External letter writers shall be instructed to give increased weight to teaching andservice for faculty with ten years in rank. This is a significant gain for all Associate Professors, particularly for women who often do tremendous amounts of under-recognized service. Also, the ten-year rule will now reward teachers robustly for providing quality public higher education.

Principle investigators: In a victory previously won away from the table, Rutgers no longer charges GAs out-of-state tuition on grants managed by faculty. In-state tuition applies to all TAs/GAs, including international scholars.

As we continue our fight for a fair PTL contract, the faculty senate in Camden and New Brunswick have overwhelmingly voted to approve resolutions in support of a fair contract for part-time faculty. Language can be found here: